Two Cents on Today's Issues

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SNAP Changes, SNAP Charity

The president wants to choose for recipients what foods they get and how much of each.

I’m livid. Not just because this takes away from a small freedom that people on public assistance have, but also because this does not take into account so many things.

Allergies

Chronic diseases that limit certain food intake

Likes and dislikes

Food sensitivities

Ability to handle foods that one isn’t familiar with

A dozen years ago, when I married my husband, I was living off of quick, prepared foods because they were a) cheap and b) fit into my time to do any sort of cooking. He came over to cook for me on an early date and made fresh kale with the meal. Kale? I’d never had it before, never heard of it. He had to TEACH me what it is, how to eat it.

This is what we as a nation should avoid. People need to have the chance to learn about healthy foods, have the chance to purchase them for themselves. Dropping a crate of food on someone’s doorstep and telling them that’s what they have for 2 weeks or a month is WRONG.

Hey, what’s this? I donno, toss it over there, lessee if there’s any french fries.

I can see this happening.

Changing the way that SNAP works now to a catch-all give-box of foods chosen for you by a committee that doesn’t know your needs and wants is absolutely the wrong way to go. Instead, we should be thinking about creating ways to make healthy foods more affordable, and making learning about managing healthy ingredients into tasty foods people (including children) will eat, and managing time to do any sort of cooking.

Of course, the above comes with spending more. And this government would rather let us all die than help create ways for people to be more self-sufficient and thoughtful.